Forgiven & Forgotten
by xMissWhitneyBexx
Summary: Ethan tries to mend the broken strings between him and Lily but is it too late? x Lithan x
1. Chapter 1

**I just had to make another story based on Lithan! WHY DO I GET SO EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO SHOWS AND MOVIES NOW? Literally, I spent a month obsessing over Hunger Games then Joshifer so now I am obsessing over Lithan! Can we have some Lithan love in here? Anyway, to set the scene, this is based around the past few weeks episodes and Lily is still upset with Ethan after he ditched her for a date with Honey. And I think we all noticed those glares and brush offs that Lily has been giving Ethan ;)**

 **Anyway, onto the story.**

* * *

Lily walked out of Holby City, pulling her cardigan tighter around her body. The weather hadn't been too good lately now that it was Autumn. Sighing she looked up at the sky at the grey clouds forming. It was definitely going to rain tonight.

"Hey, Lily! Wait up."

She groaned inwardly and turned to face Ethan Hardy with a small smile on his face. "What?" She hadn't meant to come across as mean but she had really need to get home quickly if she was going to beat the rain.

"I was wondering if you want a lift?"

"Why don't you go and ask your little girlfriend and leave me alone, okay?"

With that she walked off, not giving a second glance at her 'friend'. She wondered why she had to walk to work today but then she remembered that her moped was not working and rolled her eyes, feeling the first few spits of rain land on her face.

"Damn." she mumbled, walking a bit faster. She also wished she had brought her trainers with her since her heels were now killing her soles. "Sod this." She stopped, taking her shoes off and putting them in her bag. "Not ruining Guess heels for nothing." she muttered.

Fifteen minutes of fast paced walking, Lily was somewhat closer to her flat. _Ten more minutes Lily_ , she thought to herself as she passed the local park. It looked eerily creepy at this time of day. She could physically feel the sky darkening above her and wished that she could walk faster in her bare feet but the stones and rocks beneath her feet made it painful to walk. _Maybe the shoes were a better option._

She stopped when she heard something. "H-Hello?" she called out, turning around. There seemed to be nobody there. She rolled her eyes at her slight moment of weakness and turned back around, continuing her way. "Probably a fox or something." she assured herself.

But it wasn't.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Dr. Chao?" Connie asked, walking through the ED. It was unlike the young doctor to be late to work or better yet, sick.

"Haven't seen her since yesterday night." Ethan replied, taking his eyes away from his patient's notes.

Connie sighed. "Were you the last to see her?"

"I guess." Ethan shrugged. "She walked home when she rejected my offer to give her a lift."

"Okay. Well, when she does come in, send her to my office please." Receiving a nod, she left to deal with a patient.

Ethan took this as an opportunity to go to the staff room to retrieve his phone. He opened his locker and dug through his bag, finding his phone.

He scrolled through his contacts and reached L, Lily's name the first of the section. He pressed 'call' and waited for her to pick up, drumming his fingers impatiently against his locker door.

 _"You've reached Lily Chao. Call back later or leave a message and I might get back to you."_

He called her again.

 _"You've reached Lily Chao. Call back later or leave a message and I might get back to you."_

He sighed, ending the call.

"You okay there?"

"Uh, yeah. Just calling Lily to see where she is." Ethan replied to Cal.

Cal opened his locker. "Probably running late on that stupid bike of hers."

"Yeah. You're probably right and I should really get back to work unless I want Mrs Beauchamp to eat me."

Cal grinned. "See ya." he called out as he watched his brother leave.

* * *

Lily's breath shook as she tried to reach her her buzzing phone. She could see Ethan's smiling face from the corner of her eye as she tried to grab her phone.

She gave up after the second ring. She felt her stomach as blood seeped through her fingers. She could feel her heart rate quicken as she tried not to think about all the times she found herself in a life-threatening situation. She tried not to cry as she called for help.

"Help! H-Help me, please! Anyone there?"

She felt herself slip into unconsciousness as the dark sky grew brighter and brighter until it was dawn.

...

"I really hate these morning jogs, you know." A male told his wife who only giggled back at him.

"We need to be fit!" she replied, jogging backwards to watch her lazy husband struggle to keep his pace. "More like, you need to be fit, honey."

"But I can go to the gym. We don't have to be _those_ couples who do everything together.

"I thought that we were still in the honeymoon-"

She tripped against something.

"Babe... J-Just keep looking at me." Her husband said, walking slowly up to his wife.

"W-Why?" she asked, suddenly feeling scared. She turned and gasped when she saw a female lying on the branches and grass. "Oh my God! We have to help her!"

Her husband quickly knelt beside the injured female and checked her pulse. "She's still breathing." he said, looking around. "Call the ambulance!" he ordered his frightened wife who dug into her pockets to get her phone shakily. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

The woman opened her eyes and weakly pointed to her stomach. "She's been stabbed." His wife stated. "Hi, yeah, she's been stabbed." she told the ambulance line.

"Pressure on the wound." The man mumbled, taking his jacket off to press on the wound. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Li-Lily." Lily gasped out.

"Hello, Lily. That's a very beautiful name. My name is Ron, okay? And that's Freya."

Lily faintly nodded, closing her eyes.

"No, no. Lily, can you keep your eyes open for me?" He smiled when she opened her eyes again. "I know I'm a sight for sore eyes but keep your beautiful eyes open, okay?" He was lucky to receive a slight twitch of smile.

Something beside her buzzed and Ron's wife stood up, grabbing the phone. "Is this your phone?" Freya asked.

"An-answer it, please." Lily whispered.

Freya nodded and pressed the green button, placing the phone on her other ear. "Hello, Lily's phone."

 _"Who is this?"_ Ethan asked, fear etched in his voice.

"I-I, my husband and I found Lily stabbed in the park-"

 _"Is she okay?! Uh, which park is it? I'm on my way-"_

"Don't worry, the ambulance is on their way."

 _"I'm a doctor. Tell Lily, I'll be there."_

"I will." Freya whispered, cancelling the call. "Seems like it was your boyfriend, honey."

Lily didn't have the strength to deny her assumption as she felt her eyelids become heavy. "Lily?" Ron called. "Lily, can you hear me?" he shook her but she had already slipped into the darkness.

* * *

"Connie!" Ethan called out, jogging towards her. "It's Lily."

"'It's Lily', what? She's sick, late?"

Ethan shook his head, gulping. "She's been stabbed. I have to go with Dixie and Iain to get her."

Connie's eye widen as she sucked in a breath. "Okay. I'll... I will go prepare a room in resus." She tried not to let her voice waver as she watched Ethan dash off before she could finish talking.

"Why's Ethan going crazy?" Robyn joked, walking past her.

Connie stopped her before leaning close. "Lily has been stabbed. We don't know the extent of her injury yet but..."

"Don't worry," Robyn assured her. "I've got it."

All they could do was wait for her.

...

Ethan hopped out of the ambulance and rushed towards Lily. "How long as she been unconscious for?"

Freya thought about it whilst gripping her phone tightly. "I don't know, 15 minutes?"

"13 to be precise," Ron corrected, backing away from Lily as Iain and Dixie joined Ethan.

"Okay, when did you find her?"

"Twenty minutes or so ago. She was awake." Ron said.

Ethan tried his hardest to stay professional as he gripped Lily's cold hand. "Hey, Lily. It's me, Ethan. Can you hear me?" He tried not to cry when she didn't respond or grip his hand back.

"She's losing a lot of blood, Ethan. If we don't move now, she could die." Iain said gently.

Ethan backed off and watched his colleagues tend to Lily. He turned around and faced the couple who stood unsure of what to do.

"Thank you." he mumbled to them before joining Iain in the back of the ambulance.

"I pray to God that she makes it." Freya whispered.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Back with another chapter. I will update There For Life soon but for now, enjoy this! x**

* * *

Ethan couldn't take the tick-tocking of the clock as he sat pulling at his hair in the staff room. It had been an hour. They had learned in the ambulance that she had been laying there overnight as the heavy rain poured down and were surprised that she had survived.

"She's a fighter, that one." Dixie had said as Iain stroked her hair.

Hypothermia, broken rib, deep stab wound... Ethan had rushed out the moment Connie started to examine her fully.

Cal walked in, sympathy written in his eyes. "She's stable. Connie had her put in ICU. They managed to stop the bleeding and warm her up but she hadn't woken up yet. They had feared that something was wrong that they hadn't caught but nothing had shown on Lily's CT scan.

"Anything else?" Ethan asked quietly.

Cal shrugged helplessly. "She won't be able to have children." he replied just as quietly. "But on the good side, she probably didn't want kids, right?" he tried, knowing that it wouldn't help matters. "Why don't you check on her while I call her parents?"

Ethan nodded and stood up, sighing before he made his way upstairs towards the Intensive Care Unit. He was able to get to her easily as the receptionist smiled sadly.

"I don't know if you know but she's in a coma at the moment so don't be shocked when she doesn't wake up, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." Ethan replied before entering Lily's room.

He cautiously walked towards the seat beside her bed and sat down, gingerly taking her hand before kissing it.

...

 _Ethan's POV_

"Hey, Lily... I know you can hear me... I, uh... got scared when that woman told me that you were stabbed. I knew I should have taken you home. I shouldn't have took 'no' for an answer and look where you are now. I'm so sorry, Lily. I'm sorry for ditching you, I'm sorry for annoying you unintentionally... I'm sorry, okay? I guess that I just want to be around you all the time and the fact that I love you and the knowledge that you don't return my feelings just... broke my heart and I tried to get over you. But I can't... I pretend to be in love with a girl when in truth, I love another. You mean...," I took a pause to stop my tears from falling. "You mean everything to me, Lily Chao and when I heard that I could lose you... I just..., I couldn't take it. I need you in my life, Lily. I love you." I whispered.

I don't know what I was expecting. For her to wake up? I thought I felt her twitch her fingers but I just knew that it was the adrenaline working its magic.

"Can you wake up for me, Beautiful?" I mumbled to her. "Come on, Lily... You're strong. You're a fighter. You-you can wake up for me, please." I cried, finally breaking down as I leaned my head against her chest. "You can't leave me. You can't leave your parents or Holby. We all need you, Lils... _I_ need you."

There was a knock on the door and I took a deep breath in, wiping my eyes. It opened and Connie entered, smiling slightly.

"Hi, I just... I wanted to check on her." she whispered.

"Check away." I mumbled, getting up.

"You take all the time you need, Dr. Hardy." Connie said. "I know how close you are to her. I see everything, you know." She went over to Lily and placed a hand on her hair, smiling. "She reminds me a lot of myself. Beautiful, goal-stricken, a fighter... If anyone can pull through this, it will be her."

I asked the one thing going through everyone's minds. "What if she doesn't make it. What happens then?"

Connie paused. "That's a 'what if', Dr. Hardy. She will get through this. There's no 'if', there never was."

I stayed silent until the words just left my mouth. "Lily told me she wanted kids someday."

My superior sighed, sadness drifting through her eyes as she stroked Lily's hair. "She would have been a good mum."

"It will break her." I whispered. "She may not show it but she is weak sometimes. She is human like the rest of us."

"I... I will make sure that the news is broken to her as carefully as possible." Connie replied, withdrawing her hand. "You better go home and sleep. Your shift has ended."

"Sorry I wasn't much of a help." I mumbled, stretching as he stood up.

Connie nodded. "It's fine. I know how much she means to you. Just take tomorrow off, okay? I'll get Cal to do your shift."

I shook his head. "I can't ask him to that. I'm okay. I'll be in later. It's not me who needs the day off anyway." I mumbled, turning to face Lily. "Look after her."

"With all my being." Connie whispered.

...

I sighed as my head hit my pillow. I wanted to cry but I wasn't entirely sure what for. For the loss of Lily's reproduction cycle? For the loss of our friendship? For her survival and mental stability when she wakes up?

I stared at the time. It was only 1 PM in the afternoon. I wasn't due back into work until 8.

I recalled last night as Lily rejected my offer to give her lift. Why hadn't I persisted? Why hadn't she accepted? At the end of the day, I think I cared more for her than Honey who was my own girlfriend.

Speaking of the girl named after the sweet dew, her face appeared on my phone screen as it started buzzing.

"Hello?" I answered.

 _"Ethan... We need to talk..."_

* * *

 **Sorry it took long to be posted. There For Life will be update sometime in the near future!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Back with another chapter for you guys! x**

* * *

Ethan threw his phone on his bed, sighing heavily.

She dumped him. She was going back to Manchester. She was in love with someone else.

But why did it hurt when he was in love with another, himself? _'It's not you, it's me...'_ ran through his head.

Was it the fact that they'd been playing musical chairs with each other until he actually had the guts to ask her out, albeit awkwardly? Was it the fact that they'd both been in love with other people but only saw puppy love to each other? Was it because they both felt used?

His phone buzzed and he rejected it, planning to call his brother back later. Right now, he was shattered and he needed a break.

A break from Honey. From Cal. And most of all, from Lily.

* * *

Ethan spotted Connie walking up to him and he immediately gave his patient notes to Cal who rolled his eyes but took them anyway.

"Ethan," Connie called out. "Can we have a talk?"

Ethan nodded and followed her to a less busy area in the corner. "Well?"

It had been a week now. Everyone were concerned for the young doctor's health. There were no improvements and it was only time until her parents came back from China to visit their daughter. Lily's visitors from her family were her older siblings, Gabriel and Roseanne. Everyone else had sent their well wishes and gifts but hadn't bother to actually see her. Not that it would change anything. Lily would still be comatose and unknowing as to what was going on around her.

"Dr. Hadley from the ICU thinks she will wake up today." Connie said, wrapping her arms around her body. "But I kind of doubt it. He's been saying that for days yet, she hasn't even batted an eyelid."

Ethan sighed and hung his head. "Should we at least stay with her?"

"You can. I don't think I'll be able to accept another day without her shouting at someone." she joked lightly. "If she hasn't waken up within three hours, come back to work. These things take time, months even."

"Yeah. Thanks." Ethan mumbled before making his way to the lift. When he got to the ICU floor, he immediately headed for Lily's room as if he was programmed. Every single day, around the same time, he went there and sat with her, begging for her to wake up. Little did he know that it would change today.

He sat down and took Lily's hand. This time, he stayed quiet and watched as her chest rose up then down. He wondered what it looked like. The scar. The scar which will forever remind her of her incapability to have children. He almost cried for her since she couldn't herself. He felt her grief and pain even though she was unaware that she had it.

His eyes closed as he tried to stop the tears.

"E-Ethan?" he heard a weak voice ask.

He only kept his eyes closed tighter than before. His mind was obviously playing tricks on him.

"I-I know you're a-awake." Lily breathed out, touching the tube in her nostrils.

He opened his eyes and found her cross-eyed as she tried to view her tube. "L-Lily?" he whispered.

Her eyes looked up at him. They were blurry but she could make his figure out. "Hi." she mumbled. "God, I feel like I've been stabbed."

"You have." Ethan smiled gently, wiping her hair out of her face. "You've been out for seven days."

"S-seven?" she asked, her eyes wide. "What happened?"

"Hey, calm down." Ethan said, pushing her back against the bed. "You lost a lot of blood that's all. You were comatose because your body was trying to mend itself. You're okay now."

Lily gulped and weakly placed a hand on her stomach. "I'm s-sorry." she whispered, looking at the ceiling.

"For what? You haven't done anything wrong. Apart from giving us all heart attacks." he joked.

She smiled weakly but it was gone within a flash when she responded, "I should have listened to you. It was late and anything c-could have happened-"

"You were upset, it's okay. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I should have persisted." Ethan replied shamefully. "I would hate to lose you. You've been there for me through so many things... I just want to be the one you lean on for once. We've been through so much, Lils... I wouldn't have blamed you if you wanted a break for once."

Lily wanted to cry. Because of the pain she felt. Her headache. And Ethan's words. "I've been a bitch to you." she said hoarsely. "I don't deserve your friendship nor your care." She turned away from him and closed her eyes, tears leaking out anyway.

Ethan shook his head, and shushed her before hugging her tightly. "Lily, I've known you long enough to notice your modd swings and the person that you just are. I don't care about the bitchy front or the hardcore persona. I know the real you, you know that. And about you not deserving my friendship? I shouldn't have ditched you for Honey. I guess you needed me more and my heart ended up getting broken in the end anyway. And I will always care for you even if it kills me."

Lily felt exposed. Embarrassed. Should she confess all? She decided to anyway, she wasn't getting any younger and if what happened this week had taught her anything, it was to seize the day and live everyday like it was your last.

When she laid there on the damp ground of the great outdoors, she felt the life draining from her body, little by little. She had thought that was the end to the Lily Chao story. Everyone would mourn her and forget her. She would be a distant memory to everyone who knew her. Her parents didn't care for her anyway. Her siblings had their own lives to stop everything and be there for her. Dark thoughts littered her mind that cold dank night. The last one being that she wished Honey had never existed so that her and Ethan could have it all together.

"I love you." she blurted out. She gasped out in pain and closed her eyes tightly.

"W-what?" Ethan breathed out.

"Not now-pain." she cried.

Ethan's eyes widened as he snapped out of his reverie and stood up hastily pressing the red emergency button. He wasn't sure why he hadn't done it before but now wasn't the time to ponder on it. Now was the time to help Lily's pain.

...

Thirty minutes later, Lily found herself dressed in Connie's spare jogging kit. She winced as she slipped off her bed and bent down to retrieve her glasses from her bag. She didn't bother asking what had happened to her contacts and she couldn't care less to be honest. All she cared about was going home and having a nice hot bath.

She didn't even want to face Ethan after her revelation. He seemed... shocked. As if he didn't to let her down gently.

There was a knock on the door and it took Lily everything to not scream out at the person to leave her alone to wallow in self-pity.

"Come in."

It opened and Connie entered, smiling gently as she closed the door behind her. "Ethan told everyone that you're awake." she started. "How are you doing? Has the pain subsided yet?"

Lily shook her head, unable to answer. She put her glasses on and was able to see around more clearer than before.

"Lily...," Connie sighed, sitting beside the young registrar. "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Lily asked just as quiet.

Connie bit her lip and placed her hands on her lap, sighing lightly. "Do you ever wonder how it will feel like to have children?"

Lily was confused. "Yeah, sometimes. Why?"

"It's the hardest job to do. Being a parent."

Lily simply nodded. "I guess from seeing your relationship with your daughter. But why are you telling me this?"

"Lily... the stab wound affected your-"

"Please, don't say it." Lily whispered, tears filling her eyes.

"I'm so sorry... You won't be able to have children, sweetheart..."

"No..." Lily gulped. "I-I don't believe you."

She placed her hands on her stomach and started to sob. Connie helplessly watched her as she placed her arms around the young adult and sighed, her heart wrenching with sadness.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

She was glad to be back at home, in the comfort of her own bed after two weeks. She was still distraught from the fact that she would remain childless for the rest of her life. At least she had Ethan. He had been tending to her every call and he had awkwardly, in his own cute adorable way, admitted his feelings for her.

Until this moment, they still hadn't done anything further than that stage. Connie had given her a month off with pay but Lily craved to work. To feel the hospital bustle with life around her. To take her mind off of her own pain filled life. She quickly sent a text to Connie informing her boss of her return to work the next day. Connie had replied with 'no' but Lily had called her and convinced her that she wouldn't do anything strenuous. Even she could take up admin or mentor the new F2 who was due to come in when she was back. Lily begrudgingly agreed to mentor the new doctor as admin would probably keep her tucked away in an office or at home. At least she could treat patients.

Smiling she replied to a text that Ethan had sent.

'Just on my way to work. I'll stop by after work and give you the chocolates I promised. Ethan x'

'I'll be waiting x'

She placed her phone back on her bedside table and got out of bed, slipping her robe on. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen to check what was to offer in the fridge. Everything was off, typical.

Sighing, Lily grabbed the land line and ordered pizza. At least she'll have something to munch on whilst she was doing admin in the evening. She also made a mental note to restock the fridge or get Ethan to do it. He was into health foods and she figured some could help her recover quickly. Yeah, that's what she needed to do... recover.

...

"Dr. Chao, may I introduce you to Alicia Munroe, our new junior F2 doctor." Connie said the next day as a bubbling blonde with pink tips smiled brightly at Lily.

Lily merely nodded and winced a little as she leaned over to collect two patient files. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Munroe."

"Nice to meet you too, Dr. Chao. Are you alright?" Alicia asked, concern written on her features.

Lily waved it off and smiled as Connie nodded at her and left. "Right, you better keep on top of things because this is the Emergency Department and it is metaphorically like a jungle. It will eat you up."

Alicia's eyes widened a little as she bit her lip and nodded.

"Right, our first patient is a pregnant female who was involved in a minor RTA. Nerves are not a place for an ED so again, stay on top of things."

"Understood, Dr. Chao."

Hours ticked by and Lily's day seemed to worsen even more. Alicia was being a nervous wreck and getting in the way of everything. The pain in her stomach increased no matter how many painkillers she took. Ethan was being a pest asking about how she was. Robyn was being annoying by offering to help her by making teas or dealing with patient notes. She sighed a breath of relief when she finally had a bit of time to herself. Her shift was due to end in two hours and her phone suddenly rang during her break.

It was her mother. She never called.

Looking around the nearly empty staffroom, she stood up and went to one of the on-call rooms before locking herself in there and answering the call.

"Mama?"

"Lillian..."

Everything went numb after that one word. Words came through the speaker but words never went in. The words became quieter and quieter until silence and the whole world stilled.

She was brought back to Earth when there was a knock on the door.

"Lily?"

Connie. How did she know where she was?

"Mama, I'll-I'll call you back. Stay strong." she whispered in her native language.

Lily sniffed and hung up, wiping her tears. She quickly fixed her face with the mirror stuck on the wall and stood up, opening the door.

"There you are. You can go home if you want. We've pretty much got things covered here." Connie's eyes softened when she saw Lily's red ones.

"No. I'm alright. I've taken my medication so it shouldn't be a problem any more. Where's Dr. Munroe?"

Connie sighed. "She's waiting in the staffroom. Go easy on her, okay? It's nearly the end of her first day and she's done pretty well throughout."

Lily was scorned. Alicia seemed to be getting all the invites to go out and praises when she and Ethan had done all the work on the pregnant woman.

"Pretty well?" she repeated. "She seemed to be a wreck and got in the way most of the time."

Connie raised an eyebrow. "Lily... not everyone can hide their fear like we do."

Lily gulped, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Whatever. I'll get back to work now."

She walked away from her superior, tears threatening to fall. Nobody ever said good things about her. Not even behind her back. Praise was all she wanted. Why couldn't she get it? The one person she ever wanted to pleased was now dead and she wasn't sure whether or not she felt relief or grief.

Opening the door to the staffroom, Lily spotted Alicia and Ethan laughing about something over mugs of tea. She quickly wiped her eyes and stood in front of them. "I'm back so we can go and treat our next patient. Try not to mess this one up as well." she bitterly said, shocking Ethan, Alicia and even herself.

Alicia sighed and nodded before placing her mug in the sink and leaving. Lily was about to follow when she was stopped by Ethan locked the door and standing in front of it.

"What, Ethan?" Lily sighed, her eyebrows raising.

"What's wrong with you lately?" he asked. "You've been on and off. And-and being rude to Alicia. You're downright bullying her!"

What happened next, he wasn't expecting. "You're right..." she croaked out, tears cascading down her cheeks as she sobbed.

"Li-Lily is everything alright?" Ethan asked hesitantly as he took a few steps towards her. He reached his arms out but she took a step back.

"I don't deserve your hug. I don't deserve anything because I'm worthless." she whispered. "Nobody cares about me, nobody loves me..." she went on.

"Lily? Has something happened?" Alarm grew in Ethan's voice as he kept walking towards her backing figure.

"I'm a shame. An embarrassment. All I do is make people unhappy. I want to d-"

She tripped over the coffee table and waited for the impact to come but it never did. She was clutched tightly in Ethan's arms and was sat down on the couch with his support. "Hey, Lily... It's okay, you're okay." he whispered, kissing her head as she sobbed louder.

"He's dead."

"Who?"

"My father... he died this morning. Mama only told me ten minutes ago. I was the last to know because all I brought him throughout his life was disappointment and shame."

Ethan's heart lurched. Why had this happened to Lily? This wasn't the strong, independent woman he knew. No, this woman before him was broken, depressed, a wreck. These past couple have weeks, Lily found herself fighting for survival when all she wanted to do was die. She also found herself grieving when all she felt was relief. At least now she wouldn't hope to live up to her siblings. Her lawyer brother. Her CEO sister. They'd both dropped out of university to help their mother when she was sick. Later in the years the went on to graduate after their younger sister, Lily making her the first to graduate university and medical school. Yet, she was the one that they were all disappointed in. Why? She never knew.

"Lily... I'm so sorry." Ethan found himself finally saying. "I'm sure your father wasn't disap-"

"He was. He never once told me how proud he was of me. Neither did Mama. They'd always talk about their 'successful' children yet, I was the one without praise. It was like I was invisible to them! I never stood for anything with them. Gabriel and Roseanne always got praise and-and what they wanted. I had to slave to get what I want. All my parents did were throw insults and life lessons at me and not once did they say, 'I'm proud of you'. Not once. I wonder how my mother will feel when she finds out I can't even give them grandchildren. I'll be more of a disappointment then." her voice broke.

"Why didn't you tell me all of this before? Why couldn't you tell me how you felt?"

Lily scoffed. "Because you wouldn't understand. I hate to say it but you just wouldn't. You probably had it all. The Western System of parenting."

"Had it all?" Ethan repeated slowly. "All I had was a father who hated me and a mum who needed me. I spent most of my life living in Cal's shadow because I was the younger brother. And even when I did better than him academically, my father wouldn't even give me a second glance. My mum always told me that it's because he wasn't all that clever himself and that I shouldn't take it to heart. But honestly? I wanted my father's praise just as much as you wanted yours. I never even got it because he died when I was 18."

Lily's eyes widened. "I-I never knew." she whispered. "Do you know why your father hated you?"

"I looked like his father. His father who used to hit him whenever he did badly at school." Ethan whispered just as quietly.

He heard a small gasp. "I'm so sorry."

"I guess we're both screwed up, huh?" he smiled lightly.

"Help me? Please?"

"Only if you'll help me."

They sealed the deal with a hug.


	5. Chapter 5

Lily sighed as she stared at her reflection on her compact mirror. There were no tears. No emotions. No... nothing.

The door to the staff room opened and Alicia walked in, about to detour when Lily stopped her. "Wait,"

Alicia stopped and turned to face Lily, a nervous glance at her. "Yeah?"

Lily sighed, stepping towards Alicia. "Dr. Munroe, I apologise for my behaviour and attitude towards you. I was being unprofessional and it was unfair of me to take my emotions out on you. You probably don't know but I've had a very upsetting couple of weeks."

Alicia let out a small smile and shrugged. "I heard about what happened to you... I shouldn't have been such a pest, myself. I apologise also."

Lily sighed a breath of relief and nodded. "Well, I guess we're done here."

"Yeah." Alicia nodded. "You look nice. Are you going to a party?"

Lily stared down at her white outfit. Still no tears. "Something like that." she mumbled.

She turned around and opened her locker, collecting her things from it. The door opened and Ethan entered, smiling at Alicia.

"Are you ready to go, Lily?"

Alicia looked between them. "So, you're going to this party as well, then?"

"Uh..."

"Let's go." Lily cut in before anything else could be said.

Ethan nodded and left the door open for her as she quickly left, keeping her head up high. She hoped Connie wouldn't stop her. Her embarrassment only went so far.

She was relieved when she got into the passenger seat of Ethan's car. When he got in and put his seatbelt on, Lily closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat.

"Are you okay?" he asked her gently.

"Just drive."

...

Lily numbly stood beside her mother, shaking relatives' and family friends' hands. Condolences filtered the air and Lily only mumbled her 'thank you's. Gabriel and Roseanne were more outgoing when they gave hugs and small chats in between. Being the youngest, Lily stayed more reserved and away from the action. She'd rather Ethan's warm arms around her, pulling her into a warm hug. She nearly closed her eyes at the slight imagination of it.

When everyone but Ethan had left the small after-funeral session, Lily's mother turned to face her, her hands finding Lily's.

"Lillian... I've noticed a distant look in your eyes. Is everything alright?"

Lily didn't want to be pitied so she shook her head. "Yes, Mama. Are you okay?" Nice, quick turn around.

Her mother looked slightly shocked at how quickly her daughter was at turning the subject away from her. "I'll-I'll be alright." she mumbled. "I better go and talk to Roseanne."

Lily was glad to be away from her mother's presence. She had a sudden urge to boycott her family and cut ties with them. They hadn't helped her over the years. It wouldn't make a difference anyway since they all had their own lives to control. She collected her things and nodded at Ethan so that they could go.

"Lily,"

"What, Gabriel?" She didn't bother turning around to face him. She was too tired and all she wanted to do was take painkillers and sleep.

"Look at me." Gabriel said, turning her around to face him. "There. Now I can talk to your pretty face."

Lily shook her head. "We're not the same as we used to be ten years ago, Gabriel."

"What is wrong with you? You've been ignoring my calls for years, Lily!" He was hurt, actually hurt. He had never gotten along well with his twin sister but at least he thought he had Lily on his side when he wanted to rebel against their father. In the end, he took over the restaurant, their father receiving the last laugh. Gabriel's dream was to become a lawyer and nothing more.

"We're different." Lily shrugged.

Gabriel sighed. "This is because of Dad, isn't it? Look, if it is... I'm sorry. You don't know how it feels to be the only son and the one your father counts on to take over the family business. You are the only one who is really successful out of us and you're the one who is actually free."

"Free? What do you mean?"

"The restaurant. It falls upon mine and Rosie's shoulders. It is bound to us forever and if we sell it, we're selling our childhoods. At least you can do your dream job and live in bliss without worrying about keeping your job and a restaurant."

Lily shook her head, resisting the urge to yell at her brother. "I never had it easy and I will continue not to have it easy! Father will always be looking down on me, disappointment lurking around me. All I wanted was to be accepted but... you all ignored me. You-you were all ashamed of me and to be honest? I don't even know why! What did I do to you guys?"

Gabriel swallowed. "Remember Aunt Mei?"

"The one who died when I was one?"

He nodded. "Yeah...," he sighed. "Lils... she," another sigh. "was your mum."

Lily's world crashed around her as she spun on her heels and ran out of the door into the cold dark air, breathing heavily. She looked around, tears threatening to fall.

Her whole life was a sham. A complete utter sham. Why did she spend eternity trying to please the people who weren't even her biological parents?

"Lily! Are you okay?" Ethan... Oh, sweet Ethan. Lily beat him in the award for having the 'worst parents in the world'.

She shook her head, immediately wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, letting out pain-filled sobs.

"Oh, Lily..." he mumbled into her hair as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Her 'family' exited the hall, sighing in relief when they saw her.

"Lillian..."

Lily let go of Ethan and turned to glare at them. "Don't ever call my name." she said lowly.

"How dare you? I'm your-"

"Say 'mother' and I swear I'll make you regret it." Lily replied.

Roseanne sighed. "Lily... Lily Blossom..."

"Shut up!" Lily hissed. "Don't call me that either."

She bent down and took her coat and bag from the floor before heading towards Ethan's car, Ethan himself following her.

Lily opened the door and looked up to see her family. "I don't ever want to see any of you again. I also don't want you to contact me in any way." With that she got in the car, slamming the door shut and Ethan started the car. When he drove past her family Lily turned away from them, biting the inside of her lip.

Now, she really wanted her real mum. Mei. She closed her eyes and pictured how her 'Aunt Mei' looked like. She had warm brown eyes. Black hair. A big grin. She was always happy. Unfortunately, she died of cancer; aged 26. Her father on the other hand... was never in the picture to begin with. Mei had been married but before she could tell her husband she was pregnant, he died in a tragic car accident.

Lily realised her eyes were leaking and sniffed, accepting the tissue that Ethan blindly gave her.

"She was beautiful." she whispered.

"Who?"

"My real mum."

Ethan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Your 'real mum'?"

"Gabriel told me the truth. I finally know why I was hated by them. I reminded them of my mother who died." she replied bitterly. "Now, I really wish I had died that night I got stabbed."

Ethan halted in front of his house and turned to face her, slightly relieved he picked the right place to halt in and also that he was home.

"Never and I mean _never_ say that again."

Lily opened her eyes and turned to face him. "Why do you care?"

"You know why I care." he replied gently. "I really like you."

"I thought you loved me." A slight twitch made her lips.

Ethan blushed. "You heard all that?"

"I was in a coma, not dead or deaf. I love you."

"I love you too. So much."

Ethan kissed her gently on the lips, scared that the touch would break her very being but Lily intensified the kiss, her arms slipping around his neck to bring him closer.

They stayed like that for minutes until their was a persistent knock on the door. "Nibbles, you're swallowing the poor girl!"

Ethan and Lily jolted apart and Cal gasped from his position by the window.

"Lily?" He smiled. This was so going to be featured on gossip central.

"Go away Caleb." Ethan sighed.

"You alright, Lily?" Cal asked, ignoring Ethan's plea. He opened the door and leaned against the car.

"You know?"

Cal nodded. "Well at least you know what we went through."

"Yeah. Thrice." Lily mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"My real dad died before I was born and my real mum died when I was one."

Cal was shocked. "I'm-I'm so sorry. Must be hard for you. Why don't you come in? It's 11 and it's freezing."

Lily was surprised. "Only if Ethan would-"

"Of course. Come in!" Ethan replied, flustered. "You-you can even stay over. We don't mind."

"I didn't bring anything else other than my work clothes." Lily whispered, blushing.

Cal rolled his eyes. "I'm sure one of my ex-girlfriends have something lying about." With that he went up to their front door and unlocked it. "Are you two coming or what?"

"After you." Ethan smiled at Lily who only blushed back.


	6. Chapter 6

Lily woke up to the sun's rays shining brightly in her eyes and groaned, squinting.

"Good morning." Ethan smiled, placing a light kiss onto her lips. "I made you tea. How you like it."

She smiled and accepted the tea gratefully. "Thank you, Ethan."

"I was thinking since we're both off from work, that we could go on a date."

Lily smiled and kissed his cheek. "I can't. I just need more time."

"I know. We could have it here or at yours, if you don't want Cal anywhere where he can annoy us."

She chuckled and got out of bed her pyjama shorts riding up a little so Ethan could get an eyeful of her lace underwear. "It's okay, really. I don't mind it here."

He smiled, planting a kiss on top of her shoulder. "Breakfast's ready, then."

"Where's Caleb?"

"He's got the night shift but he's gone out with Max since he's off too." Ethan explained.

Lily nodded, sitting up to collect her phone from the bedside table. "'Mum'... Humph, she's not a mother," she mumbled bitterly.

"I'm really am sorry about what happened yesterday..."

"Why?" Lily frowned. "It's not your fault. You're not the one who made my life hell or a complete sham. At least I know, what I have with you is real."

Ethan gave her a shy smile, kissing her lips as she responded hungrily. "Maybe breakfast can wait?" He asked, blushing.

Lily bit her lip, drawing a line down his cheek to his neck. "Breakfast can _definitely_ wait, although I'm famished."

...

Cal rolled his eyes. "Why did my shift have to be cancelled?"

Lily broke away from Ethan's kiss, the TV's light illuminating her face as she turned to face her boyfriend's brother.

"You could have stayed out with Max or just go in for the hell of it. I'm sure there is something you could do to further your studying."

Cal playfully glared at her. "I'm having an early night," he yawned, standing up. "That means - I'm going out, getting drunk and pulling a girl."

"Good luck with that." Ethan chuckled, watching his brother leave to get changed for the third time that day.

"Do you think he'd pull someone?" Lily smirked.

"Yes but then he'll get slapped once they leave to 'seal the deal'. He'll be home within two hours, tops."

Lily giggled, placing another kiss onto Ethan's lips, ignoring the buzz of her phone.

"Pick that up?"

She shook her head, her smile increasing as Ethan's lips trailed down her cheek to her neck.

Her phone disrupted them three more times and she found herself groaning in displeasure once she saw her brother's name on the caller ID.

"What, Gabriel?"

 _"Lily... Thanks for finally answering. Look, we all need to sit down and talk-"_

"I'm busy."

She hung up and sighed, rubbing her face.

"I... I wish they'd leave me alone. They must understand that I need some time to think."

Ethan agreed, a little. "But isn't it better to just get it out of the way? Otherwise, they'd be calling every second, every hour."

"I'll... I'll think about it but I _need_ time. My whole life wasn't as I thought it was..." she whispered.


End file.
